Deputies Stop Arsonist in Pleasant Valley

Clay County deputies interrupted a man trying to burn down a house in the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 6. His wife and her elderly aunt were trapped inside.

Darin R. Thomsen, 48, is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim, arson, domestic assault and assault on a law enforcement officer

According to a Sheriff’s Office press release, “Darin R. Thomsen, 48, is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim, arson, domestic assault and assault on a law enforcement officer.”

The call came from Thomsen’s wife about 1:30 am on December 6. She told 911 operators that , “her estranged husband was in the house when he was not supposed to be and was threatening her with violence. Out of fear for her safety and that of her 78-year-old aunt, she barricaded them in a bedroom. Then she began to smell smoke.”

Deputies could smell something burning when they arrived to the home and heard the woman yelling for help from the bedroom window. Deputies report that, “Thomsen came onto the front porch, refused to follow deputies’ commands, and went back inside the house with the door open.”

Thomsen also struggled while deputies tried to detain him and kicked one of them. There was also a large dog in the home that had become aggressive and was attempting to bite deputies. They were able to secure it another room.

Pleasant Valley firefighters were able to put out the fire that had been started in the living room and remove the two women from the house safely. Firefighters say the fire had burned a cabinet and painting and was making its way up the wall toward the ceiling before firefighters extinguished it.

Detectives were able to retrieve multiple accelerants and lighters in and around the house. The Missouri Department of Public Safety’s Division of Fire Safety determined the fire was started with an accelerant and was intentional.

Both women told deputies they were in fear for their lives during the incident. Thomsen is being held on a $100,000 bond in the Clay County Detention Center.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story